Janitors and Building Cleaners salary in the US
A data-first look at janitors and building cleaners' pay: the median, the thresholds for the top 25% and top 10%, and how earnings vary across the country.
How much do janitors and building cleaners earn?
Half of all janitors and building cleaners in the United States earned more than $28,833 a year, and half earned less — 45% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. Of the 171 occupation groups in our data, just 18 have a lower median. That estimate rests on 104,961 individual Census survey responses from workers 25 and up.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $61,101 |
| Top 25% start at | $42,957 |
| Median (top 50%) | $28,833 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $14,620 |
How wide is the pay range?
Moving up the ladder, the top-quarter threshold is $42,957 and the top-10% threshold is $61,101, a 2.1× step up from the middle. A quarter of workers in the field made $14,620 or less over the year — a figure shaped by part-time and seasonal work as much as by hourly rates. So the distance from the bottom quarter to the middle is a factor of 2.0.
Earnings by age
Unusually, the highest median belongs to the 55–64 group ($31,772), well above the $26,155 seen at 25–34. After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $20,285 (36% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
There is a 34% gap at the median: $33,516 for men and $21,996 for women. In the raw sample, roughly 36 in 100 workers in this job are women. Because these are annual totals, more part-time work in one group widens the gap; the survey doesn't adjust for that.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $33,516 | 67,117 |
| Women | $21,996 | 37,844 |
Does education change the pay?
From a professional degree to some college or an associate degree, the median rises from $24,378 to $31,281, a 28% gap. Most workers surveyed in this job have a high school education or less (70,628 records); any level under 100 records is blank in the table.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $27,930 | 70,628 |
| Some college / associate | $31,281 | 26,756 |
| Bachelor's | $29,831 | 6,092 |
| Master's | $27,286 | 1,129 |
| Professional degree | $24,378 | 230 |
| Doctorate | $25,890 | 126 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
The five states with the most janitors and building cleaners in the survey are California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Among them, New York has the highest median at $34,856 and Texas the lowest at $25,662, a 36% spread. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 51 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $33,516 | 11,276 |
| Texas | $25,662 | 8,173 |
| New York | $34,856 | 7,391 |
| Florida | $26,237 | 5,862 |
| Pennsylvania | $29,328 | 4,791 |
Occupations with similar pay
Similar typical earnings show up for couriers and messengers ($28,960), landscaping and groundskeeping workers ($29,328), cleaners of vehicles and equipment ($29,328), and packers and packagers, hand ($29,328). Similar pay doesn't mean similar work — training, hours and risk differ — but it's a useful reference when weighing a move.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Couriers And Messengers | $28,960 | 0% |
| Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | $29,328 | +2% |
| Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment | $29,328 | +2% |
| Packers And Packagers, Hand | $29,328 | +2% |
| Taxi Drivers | $28,297 | −2% |
About these figures
About the data: the American Community Survey asks people their occupation and earnings; we pool the 2020–2024 responses, convert them to 2024 dollars, and weight each person to represent the population. The 104,961 records for janitors and building cleaners include part-time workers, so these are annual totals rather than full-time salaries.
See where your pay ranks among janitors and building cleaners
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.